Bob Allen

Nehemiah 3

Nehemiah Three

Then Eliashib the high priest arose with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel. 2 Next to him the men of Jericho built, and next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.

3 Now the sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and bars. 4 Next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz made repairs. And next to him Meshullam the son of Berechiah the son of Meshezabel made repairs. And next to him Zadok the son of Baana also made repairs. 5 Moreover, next to him the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not support the work of their masters.

6 Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid its beams and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars. 7 Next to them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, also made repairs for the official seat of the governor of the province beyond the River. 8 Next to him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah of the goldsmiths made repairs. And next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9 Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs. 10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah made repairs. 11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of Furnaces. 12 Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters.

13 Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah repaired the Valley Gate. They built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and a thousand cubits of the wall to the Refuse Gate.

14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem repaired the Refuse Gate. He built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.

15 Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, the official of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He built it, covered it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah at the king’s garden as far as the steps that descend from the city of David. 16 After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, official of half the district of Beth-zur, made repairs as far as a point opposite the tombs of David, and as far as the artificial pool and the house of the mighty men. 17 After him the Levites carried out repairs under Rehum the son of Bani. Next to him Hashabiah, the official of half the district of Keilah, carried out repairs for his district. 18 After him their brothers carried out repairs under Bavvai the son of Henadad, official of the other half of the district of Keilah. 19 Next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the official of Mizpah, repaired another section in front of the ascent of the armory at the Angle. 20 After him Baruch the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section, from the Angle to the doorway of the house of Eliashib the high priest. 21 After him Meremoth the son of Uriah the son of Hakkoz repaired another section, from the doorway of Eliashib’s house even as far as the end of his house. 22 After him the priests, the men of the valley, carried out repairs. 23 After them Benjamin and Hasshub carried out repairs in front of their house. After them Azariah the son of Maaseiah, son of Ananiah, carried out repairs beside his house. 24 After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another section, from the house of Azariah as far as the Angle and as far as the corner. 25 Palal the son of Uzai made repairs in front of the Angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king, which is by the court of the guard. After him Pedaiah the son of Parosh made repairs. 26 The temple servants living in Ophel made repairs as far as the front of the Water Gate toward the east and the projecting tower. 27 After them the Tekoites repaired another section in front of the great projecting tower and as far as the wall of Ophel.

28 Above the Horse Gate the priests carried out repairs, each in front of his house. 29 After them Zadok the son of Immer carried out repairs in front of his house. And after him Shemaiah the son of Shecaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, carried out repairs. 30 After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. After him Meshullam the son of Berechiah carried out repairs in front of his own quarters. 31 After him Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, carried out repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, in front of the Inspection Gate and as far as the upper room of the corner. 32 Between the upper room of the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and the merchants carried out repairs.

The Setting:
The Gates Mentioned.

  1. Sheep Gate – the path of the animals that were to be sacrificed. (It may be the same Sheep Gate of John 5:2 – where Jesus heals the man who had been ill for 38 years and couldn’t get up to get to the Pool of Bethesda.)
  2. Fish Gate – more of a market where the fishermen brought their catch in. Zephaniah prophesied that a cry will come from the Fish Gate on the Day of the Lord (Zephaniah 1:10).
  3. Old Gate – only mentioned in Nehemiah, could be one of the original gates
  4. Valley Gate – opened up into the valley of Hinnom
  5. Refuse Gate – All the refuse and rubbish went out of the city through here – thought to have been chosen because the wind generally blew the smell away from the city. Very southern tip, facing southwest.
  6. Fountain Gate – Located near the pool of Soloam – This is the place where Jesus sent the man who had been born blind (John 9:7)
  7. Water Gate – leads down to the Gihon Spring, next to the Kidron Valley
  8. Horse Gate – Close to the stables of the King, most likely one of the tallest gates.
  9. East Gate – located on the opposite of Mt of Olives, also known as the Mercy Gate, and it supposed to be blocked waiting for the Messiah to break it open. Jesus apparently entered this gate on Palm Sunday before He drove out the merchants in the temple courtyard (Matthew 21:12–17).
  10. Inspection Gate – Tradition says David inspected his troops here.

 

 

Some of the highlights from the people mentioned.  Prior to going to the specifics, notice that there is a wide range of occupations listed:  Priests, slaves, goldsmiths, perfumers, the official of half the district of Jerusalem (he and his daughters), the official of the district of Beth-haccherem, the official of the district of Mizpah, the Levites, the priests, the men of the valley, the temple servants living in Ophel, and the merchants.

  1. Verse one – Priests were working. Significant that the worked on the Sheep Gate?  The place where sacrifices would most likely arrive?  Priests were making and hanging doors.
  2. The Tower of a Hundred – The rendering of the Greek version, “the tower of the hundred,” might be interpreted to mean that the tower either was garrisoned by one hundred men, or was one hundred cubits high, or had one hundred steps. (Jewish Encyclopedia.com)
  3. The priests worked beside the people from Jericho – normal lines were set aside for the task.
  4. The Tekoites – but their nobles did not support the work of their masters. They are mentioned twice (vs 5 and 27).
  5. Rebuilding walls was not their occupation prior to rebuilding the walls.
  6. Some picked up more labor than others, verses 11, 19, 21, 24, 27 and 30)
  7. Some worked in the Dirty Jobs (Mike Rowe) aka the Refuge Gate.
  8. Some refused to work – the nobles of verse 5.

 

 

Illustrations this week

The Chicken Gun:

Not knowing how things work.  British engineers heard about the gun and wanted to use it to test the windshield of their newest high-speed train. Arrangements were made, and a gun was sent to the British engineers. The testing site was arranged and the gun was loaded with a dead chicken.

When the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as the chicken hurtled out of the barrel, smashed through the shatterproof windshield, blasted through the control console, broke the engineer’s backrest in two, and embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin. The horrified British sent NASA the disastrous results of the experiment, explaining what they had done, along with the designs of the windshield, and then, asked for further suggestions. NASA responded with a one-line instruction: “Next time, thaw the chicken.”